Batteries included in Australian power revolution

London

A REVOLUTION in south Australia is wresting power from utility-owned grids and putting it inside batteries installed inside the homes of electricity consumers.

Billed as the world's biggest "virtual power plant", AGL Energy Ltd is installing 1,000 batteries in and around Adelaide at a cost of about A$20 million (S$20.5 million), according to a statement on Friday. The five-megawatt array, which combines lithium-ion storage, Internet routing gear and software to detect energy consumption patterns, shows how utilities are remaking the way power is generated and transmitted.